Like all of the 2020s thus far, 2025 had a lot of mess going on in the world. Thankfully we had TV and film to give us some escape from it all. We used to be able to go to social media to spend time chatting about these things, but that’s becoming harder now. People are more focused on trying to become influencers or arguing about politics. And, on top of all of that, we are constantly smacked in the face with a ton of AI slop. Speaking of the word slop, did you know that it is Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year? Very fitting, indeed.
According to the website, slop is defined as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” And boy is there a lot of it out there. The rise of AI slop is starting to even infiltrate our shows and films with AI actresses and show credits that frankly look horrible. Sigh. It is coming at the cost of creatives who have worked diligently to build their craft.
Sadly, we will have to deal with slop online from now until the end of time, and Merriam-Webster knows this, so they chose the right word of the year.